8 Elements of a Successful Strategic Communications Plan
by Gwen Hagen, Senior Marketing Manager
1. Plan Purpose
Why are you creating a communications plan? And what do you want your plan to accomplish?
Do you want to create strategic relationships? Improve communication consistency? Increase engagement?
Your plan purpose serves as a guide for all the content to include in your communications plan. That’s why this is such an important first step.
2. Situational Analysis
A situational analysis develops a basis for understanding the environment.
It may also uncover challenges, define potential audiences and perspectives, and evaluate the state of communication.
Situational analyses can include interviews with key stakeholders, surveys, an environmental analysis, a competitive landscape assessment, a SWOT analysis or an audit of current communication strategies.
3. Audience Personas
Through the research conducted in the situational analysis, you can now define audience personas, or profiles that represent typical members of your target audiences.
This exercise helps you better understand who to market to and how to speak to them.
Your personas may include details, like demographic, personality, goals, skill sets, interests, challenges and other information.
4. Messaging
How do you want to communicate as an organization? What value do you provide?
What are your perspectives? What are your challenges? How are you different from competitors?
Your answers to those questions will empower you to create messaging that best represents your company and appeals to your audience.
5. Channels
Which channels do your ideal customers use most often? Facebook? LinkedIn? Email? Television?
Choosing the right platform can mean the difference between a message being heard and getting lost in a sea of noise.
6. Communications Matrix
Once you have identified the audience, messaging and channels, you can establish a communications matrix.
It’s a grid or table to plot relevant messaging, proper channel, audience and frequency. This can be a powerful tool for organizing complex communications campaigns, especially when multiple team members are involved.
7. Goals, Strategies & Tactics
Your marketing goals are the guideline for all campaigns.
To ensure you have a clear objective that helps you measure ongoing performance, define SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
A marketing strategy provides the action plan you’ll follow to achieve your objectives, and marketing tactics are the individual steps you’ll take to execute that strategy.
8. Calendar & Budget
When you create a timeline for strategies and tactics, your plan will flow smoother and you’ll be able to track progress toward your goals.
A calendar also helps you plan for larger budget expenditures, so you can implement them at the ideal time during your fiscal year.
Are you ready to create your communications plan? Our experienced, passionate marketers are here to help. To learn more, reach out to us.
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